Hollywood blockbusters seem to be falling from favour in China, where local productions are seeing far better box office ratings, the US news outlet CNBC reports.
CNBC compared the Marvel superhero sequel Deadpool & Wolverine with the Chinese comedy Successor, noting that the former has been the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time internationally. In China, however, Successor has performed far better – grossing six times as much as Deadpool & Wolverine in their respective first 20 days at the cinema.
Released in China on 16 July, Successor now stands as the country’s third-most-watched film this year. Released one week later, Disney’s Marvel offering is in 15th place.
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According to CNBC, Hollywood films like Deadpool & Wolverine were a lot more popular in China pre-2020. But in the years since, helped by the fact the country effectively closed itself during the Covid-19 pandemic, China’s home-grown movie scene has taken off.
Professor of political science Stanely Rosen, from the University of Southern California, told CNBC that “China learned all they could from Hollywood” before the pandemic.
“Now they make their own big-budget blockbuster films with good special effects, and even good animated films … They don’t need Hollywood anymore,” he said. Rosen specialises in Chinese politics, society, and film.
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Other experts told CNBC that Chinese movie-goers were veering towards more patriotic films, like 2021’s The Battle at Lake Changjin, and may be tiring of repetitive Hollywood storylines.
Ying Zhu, a leading scholar in Chinese film and television, said that ongoing tensions between China and the US were “an underlying factor that dampens the Chinese public’s enthusiasm for US popular culture, including films.”
